Conviction affirmed for day care worker who took explicit photos of 4-year-old

Ali Al-Awadi, 20, Indianapolis, was charged in August with felony child molesting in a case involving a 4-year-old girl at the Children’s Choice Learning Center in Indianapolis. The case against Al-Awadi, who was a worker at the day care center, is pending, court records show.(Photo: Provided by IMPD)

Oct. 17, 2017 UPDATE: The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's judgment in a decision published Oct. 13. Former day care worker Ali Al-Awadi was convicted in 2016 of taking explicit photos of a 4-year-old girl.

EARLIER: An Indianapolis man was sentenced to 27 years in federal prison for taking explicit photos of a 4-year-old girl at the north-side day care where he worked.

Ali Al-Awadi, 22, was convicted in February of three counts of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of attempted sexual exploitation of a child, according to court records. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department found photos of a female child's bare genitals on Al-Awadi's phone while investigating allegations that he molested a 4-year-old girl in 2014.

The sentence handed down Thursday by U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt will be followed by 15 years of supervised release. The judge also ordered Al-Awadi to pay $9,000 in restitution, register as a sex offender and undergo treatment for sexual disorders "due to his sexual attraction to children."

In a statement to the judge, Al-Awadi said he is a "God-fearing young man" and that the circumstances of the case don't reflect who he is.

"I ask for forgiveness for my sins, big and small," he told the judge Thursday.

The little girl's family cried as he spoke.

Al-Awadi still faces two other criminal cases in Marion Superior Court.

In the first case, Al-Awadi was charged with a felony count of child molesting in the incident at Children's Choice Learning Center at St. Vincent Indianapolis Hospital, court records show. If convicted, he faces up to 16 additional years in prison.

The 4-year-old girl told other caregivers at the day care that "Mr. Ali" had put his finger inside her during nap time. Those caregivers didn't report the girl's accusation to authorities until nearly 20 hours later, according to court records. Al-Awadi, who worked at the day care, was allowed to continue caring for children for at least three hours after the girl reported it.

Police seized Al-Awadi's cellphone when he was arrested and later secured a warrant to search it.

There were several photos on his phone of a female child's bare genitals, with someone pulling underwear and pants away from the child's body, according to federal court records. The child's underwear in those photos, black with a bright pink waistband, was identical to the pair worn by the little girl the day she reported the allegations. The underwear had been taken into evidence by police at the hospital where she was examined after telling her parents she had been touched.

Al-Awadi denied touching the girl. He claimed the girl had "pinched her vagina on my watch" when he tried to lay her down for a nap, according to police records.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad Shepard said the only reason there was only one victim is Al-Awadi "picked an exceptionally strong victim who would tell almost anyone who would listen what had happened to her."

Al-Awadi also faces a misdemeanor charge of violation of privacy. He's accused of violating a court order that prohibited him from having any contact with children while the child molesting case was pending. Marion County prosecutors said Al-Awadi had been living with his underage sister.

Both Marion Superior Court cases are pending.

“I want to thank and commend the victim and her family for standing up and bravely confronting this child molester on the day she was victimized and again two years later in a federal courthouse,” U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler said in a statement Thursday. “While no sentence will bring back the innocence or relieve the pain she suffered ... her brave deeds undoubtedly saved more children that would have been victimized by the defendant. I would encourage anyone victimized by a child molester to immediately report the crime to law enforcement.”